


A Pirate's Life For Me

by RiddlePanda



Category: South Park
Genre: M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pirate AU, South Park Phone Destroyer AU, The Hookhand Clyde/Witch Doctor Token Tyde ship you didn't know you needed until now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 06:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14665170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiddlePanda/pseuds/RiddlePanda
Summary: All Token wanted was revenge. Revenge on the pirates that slaughtered his village. His heart had grown cold with no hope of rekindling that fire. He hated all pirates, not just the ones that killed his loved ones, and vowed to only use his skills to hurt. His days of healing the sick and injured were over.You would think a Pirate Captain with a heart of gold and two missing hands wouldn't deter you from your need for revenge.You would think.





	1. Hookhand with a Heart of Gold

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a thing. Witch Doctor Token just seems more in tune with the pirate setting. 
> 
> (Don't worry, I haven't abandoned Open Your Heart. Just need to rework some things and finally cement on one of the three possible endings it has.)

Token rubbed at his eyes, careful of the markings on his face. He didn’t want to reapply the traditional paint so soon after applying a fresh mask, although he knew there was no one around to care of his importance of being the village’s healer.

There was no village anymore. Pirates had ransacked it and slaughtered everyone. He was only spared since he was on the other side of the island, picking herbs to combat the rash some of the children had developed when they decided to play with a jellyfish that had washed up on shore.

By the time he got back, the village was destroyed. The ground was covered in bodies and blood. The livestock wasn’t even spared, the weaker ones killed and the stronger ones dragged off by the pirates.

Token knew it was pirates. The pirate logo of the particular band was burned into every hut and into his own mind as he tried to save what he could before things began to spoil.

The death ritual was one of the hardest Token had to do, especially since he was by himself, as he dragged and carried each body to the sacred place on the beach the village had their rituals for someone who had passed.

He knew the fire he started would be seen as he prayed and blessed each fallen soul, but he was exhausted and mourning. At this point, if the pirates that had killed his village were still around, he gladly would have let them take his life.

——————————–

Token hated pirates and vowed to take the band who killed his village down. Weeks had passed since the slaughter and each night, Token stared at the pirate symbol in festering hatred. It was the traditional skull and crossbones, but there was a large crack in the skull, signalling a scar, and one of the bones looked to be a wooden leg.

He had a bag packed, filled with most of his salves and potions that held up for a long time, as well as trinkets and treasures he could trade or sell. There were merchant ships that passed every few months. He would trade his way aboard one of them and then seek out the pirates that killed his family and friends. There was nothing but revenge in his heart. Although he had been a healer at one point, those days were gone. There was no one to heal, only hurt.

—————————————–

Token really hated pirates, especially the one that had just barged into his hut, demanding his help.

He spat in the man’s face and scoffed as the man held out a dagger. “You think I’m scared of you pirate? I’m not afraid to die but I know you won’t kill me. You need my help after all.”

“You fucking voodoo bas-”

A hooked arm suddenly appeared and the man attached to it lowered the dagger in the other man’s hand. “That’s enough Craig. He’s not going to help. Maybe we can make it to Port So-”

The hooked man closed his eyes and heavily leaned against the doorframe, forcing the other man to drop his dagger to keep the hooked man from falling down.

“Captain! I told you not to come along! I was fine! You’re not!”

The hooked man chuckled as he leaned against the other. “When it’s my time, it’s my time Craig.”

“Cap… Clyde…goddamnit…”

Token furrowed his eyebrows as he watched the interaction and sighed. “Put him on the bed over there. I’ll do what I can. What are his symptoms?”

The pirate known as Craig half-dragged the other man to the bed Token had pointed at. “He’s got a fever and is shaking pretty bad. Can’t eat or drink anything without expelling it minutes later, even water.”

Token began rummaging through the medicines and potions he had and frowned. “I have an idea of what it is, but I don’t have the medicine to help. The plants I need to make it are in the middle of the island. If you stay here and watch him, I can give him something now to lessen the pain until I get back with-”

Craig held his dagger back up to Token. “You’re staying here. How do we know you won’t contact the rest of your village to kill us while you’re gone?”

Token glared at Craig before pointing out the open door. “You would have had to cross my village to get to my hut. There is  **no** village! Not anymore. Those damn pirate bastards with that damn insignia killed everyone save for me. You’re lucky I don’t kill _you_. I hate your kind, no matter if you’re those pirates or not. Be grateful I’m even helping you.”

The man on the bed whimpered. “Craig please…just…let him go.”

Craig glared at the witch doctor, before lowering his dagger. "Fine.”

Token smirked as he walked past Craig and grabbed his gathering bag. “I have nothing to lose anymore pirate, even my own life. But you do. Your captain won’t make it unless he gets medicine now. I need to gather those plants.”

Craig grabbed the bag from Token. “Don’t you need to prepare? It would be faster if I gathered the plants and you stayed here.”

“So you’ll leave me with your captain, but don’t trust me to go by myself? You don’t even know what plants I need.”

Craig gripped the bag. “I…helped our doctor before he was killed. And back when… I know my way around plants, helpful  **and** hurtful.”

Token sighed and nodded, taking a bound book from his packed bag and flipping the pages. He held the book up, showing Craig intricate drawings of various plants and flowers. “These are the plants I need. Take the book, but bring it back in one piece. I’ll know if pages are missing.”

——————-

“He doesn’t…like to be around…when I cry.”

Token raised his eyebrows as he smeared an herbal paste and then placed a wet strip of cloth on the brunette’s forehead. “A crying pirate captain? I’ve never heard of such a thing. You guys are bloodthirsty killers who only care about treasure and pillaging.”

The man shook his head, careful of the cloth. “We steal, but only to those who deserve it. And none of us have killed anyone unless it was self defense.”

“And you call yourselves pirates?”

The man chuckled. “Well…that’s what we’re labeled as, so we just ran with it. And I’ve got the limbs for it, or lack thereof. Hookhand Clyde is what I’m called by the higher powers out there. Captain to my crew, just Clyde when it’s not official business.”

Clyde held up his arms, Token getting a better look at the hooks that had replaced where the man’s hands should have been.

“That must have been a story. Having  _ **both**_ gone. Never in my life have I seen a pirate with both of the same limb gone.”

Clyde hummed and winced in pain. “Yeah… God…it’s been close to fifteen years. I was ten and had traveled to the next town over with my father to sell shoes we made. I had given an apple I had carried with me to a hungry little girl and the next thing I knew, I was grabbed and accused of stealing. I was a well fed child when I was younger and I got confused for another child with a similar build and hair color that had stolen apples just recently. Before my father could get to me and intervene, I had my hands chopped off. My father was furious. Got the law involved, but the damage had already been done.”

Token looked back down at the hooks. “Fifteen years. That’s a long time to be without hands. How have you been able to get by like this?”

Clyde closed his eyes and smiled. “Craig’s been with me since then, being my hands. Helping me with everything I needed. See…the little girl I gave my apple to was his little sister, Tricia. They were orphans and part of a group of children that ran around and stole food and trinkets to survive. Tricia told her brother what happened and the two followed us back to our village, insisting that it was his fault for sending his sister out to gather food that day. He felt guilty for what happened and wanted to make things right. My father gave them the condition that in exchange for helping me, they’d stop stealing. Even gave them a room in our house to sleep in.”

“He cares a lot about you. Most pirate crew would be jumping at the chance to replace their captain if they were as sick as you, especially the first mate which I’m assuming he is.”

“Craig’s my best friend and brother. It would take an act of desperation for him to betray me. My entire crew as well. I take in the ones that would normally not last a day on the sea. We’re family.”

Clyde shivered and Token got up to grab another blanket to place on the man. He grabbed a gourd, scooping up some of the warming water in it, and walked back to the bed. Token sprinkled a powder in the water before helping Clyde sit up to drink the water.

“It’ll settle your stomach for a while, at least until I can make the medicine you need.”

Clyde leaned into Token, whimpering as he tried to brace himself for the signs he would throw up the water. “You never told me your name.”

“It’s Token, the village doctor as you would call me…if I still had one.”

“I’m sorry about your village Token. I think Craig was in such a hurry that he didn’t see the markings, but I did. Those were the Red Eye pirates. We’ve kept our distance from them, even sailing on if we see them at a port, but we know of them. Once I get better, I can say a prayer if you’d like. I know it’s not much, especially with such a large village. Are you really the only one left?”

Token nodded. “I was gathering plants on the other side of the island when they attacked. For days, I had wished that I had been here to die alongside them, but now…I want revenge on them. I want them to pay for what they’ve done.”

Clyde hummed as he weakly rubbed his arms together. “Revenge is a strong word Token. That’s truly the sign that a heart’s gone cold. I understand the need for it, but once you take it? What then? What do you do after it’s been taken?”

Token stayed silent as he thought about Clyde’s words, noticing the man grimacing as he rubbed his arms. “Do they hurt?”

“Hmm?”

“Your… wrists… where-”

Clyde chuckled weakly. “My stumps. You can say it. They and I have been called worse. Yeah…they do. Only when I’m cold.”

Token frowned as he nodded. “I’ve…got an herbal paste that can help, if you’ll allow me to apply it.”

“The leather straps need to be unbuckled from my arms. That’s how the hooks are kept on.”

Token nodded and helped Clyde ease down on the bed before quickly unbuckling the hooks. He stood up and threw another log on the fire that was warming the water for Clyde’s medicine before moving to grab the covered gourd with the paste he needed.

He gently grabbed one of Clyde’s arms and began smearing the paste on the stump, causing the man to close his eyes and sigh in relief. He fell asleep as Token began to work on his other arm. He took the dry rag from Clyde’s forehead and wet it down again before reapplying it. Looking out the door at the remains of his village, he hoped Clyde’s first mate got back soon.

———————-

No sooner had Craig entered the hut, Token had grabbed the bag out of his hands and rummaged around in it.

“They’re all there. I didn’t know how much you needed, but I got-”

The bag was thrust back at him and Token pointed to the table beside him. “Start chopping those up real fine and put them in that bowl. Do you know how to grind plants into a paste?”

Craig stared at the man for a second before nodding, too shocked to say anything, as he made his way to where Token had pointed. He spared a glance at the sleeping man on the bed.

“How’s he doing? Still alive?”

Token frowned. “Barely. He has a few hours tops before… He would have not made it to the other destination. I hope we’re not too late in saving his life, even with the medicine I’m making. He got too chilled too fast.”

“Is that why it’s sweltering in here?”

Token nodded as he picked apart the flowers on the table. “My fire was hot enough for this water to boil, two blankets on him, not to mention the climate outside, and he was _**STILL**_ saying he was cold. I’ve seen enough of that particular symptom to know someone’s not long for this world.”

Craig grit his teeth as he chopped rapidly. “We’re saving him! I don’t care if-”

“That’s why I’m having you help me. You’ve got a quick mind and the utmost loyalty for your captain. At least, that’s what I picked up on from what Clyde told me about you Craig.”

“Already on a first name basis. Clyde must really like and trust you then. Listen…once we save him…anything. I’ll give you anything as payment. Even-”

“We’ll discuss that after he’s better.”

——————————-

Clyde wouldn't wake up once the medicine was ready so Craig held onto Clyde as he forced the man’s mouth open, Token gently pouring the liquid in Clyde’s mouth as he massaged his throat to get the pirate captain to unconsciously swallow.

Token gave the first bowl a few minutes to settle before forcing another batch down Clyde’s throat.

“We’ll know if it’s working soon but I’d like to get another two in him just to be safe. I need to get some more water from outside to start on something for him to eat once he wakes. It’ll only be a broth, but it will help get his strength back.”

“Wait.”

Token sighed and turned around. “Am I still not allowed outside? You should know by now I have nowhere to go.”

Craig shook his head. “I…I just want to say I’m sorry. You had every right to not help us and you did. I…glanced around at your village before returning, at the pirate symbol. For the Red Eyes to do this… Your village on the maps was peaceful, a place for both merchants and pirates to come without provocation. Why they did this-”

“I don’t care why. I just want them wiped from this earth, like they wiped my village.”

Craig put his hand on Token’s shoulder. “Revenge…is a heavy word to lug around. It’ll eat away at even the most noblest of men, twisting their heart-”

Token laughed and shook his head. “Clyde told me the same thing. My heart…I don’t think it would ever heal from what happened. Helping you two was a fluke, one last act of goodwill from the man I used to be.”

—————————-

Clyde was able to weakly sit up with Craig’s help by the time Token had finished making the broth, happily chatting to both of them. Token handed Clyde’s bowl to Craig and the pirate held on to the bowl while Clyde carefully spooned the broth up with a spoon that could be substituted for one of the hooks, using the piece of bread Craig had speared on the other to wipe up the remainder.

“This is really good Token! No offense Craig, but I think Tweek could take a few lessons from Token here.”

Craig chuckled. “He’s a decent cook. You’re just a former spoiled merchant kid.”

“He tries to put coffee in everything Craig! I kind of like to sleep most nights.”

“And most days.”

“Hey!”

Token closed his eyes and smiled softly, enjoying the banter of the two pirates after going so long without company. It felt nice, almost like the nights he would stay up and chat with his village. He never knew how much he missed the noise. Still...he knew this moment was short-lived as the memories of his loved ones made his heart ache.

“Do you need anything in particular Token?”

Token opened his eyes and looked up, looking at the two in confusion. “What?”

Clyde grinned. “Payment. For your services. Craig told you he’d give you anything for saving me and I’m honoring that statement. Name it and we can probably provide it. We’ve got money, jewels, spices, we can possibly pry some coffee away from Tweek when he’s-”

“Take me with you.”

Clyde and Craig looked at each other before Clyde turned back to Token. “The sea is way different from the land. It’s quite a jarring experience if you’ve never been on a boat before. If you’re doing this to find the Red Eyes, I guess we can drop you off at the-”

“Having second thoughts about agreeing to anything?”

Clyde shook his head. “No. A Pirate Captain always stays true to their word. But you might want to pack some herb for throwing up. I really mean it when I say the sea is rough.”

“Oh don’t worry. I’m taking most of my supplies. They’re sure to be useful, especially in my new role on the ship.”

Clyde furrowed his eyebrows. “New…role?”

Token smirked as took the bowls from the pirates. “Don’t you need a new doctor? Yours getting killed was the only reason you came to the island. You’re gonna need one, especially when you were just hours from death this time. And besides, I’m sure no one will visit this island anymore once word gets around my village has been destroyed. You’re probably my only way off this island at this point.”

Clyde closed his eyes and frowned. “I know you don't _just_ want to be our doctor and only want us to take you for your own agenda. I know you want revenge on the Red Eye pirates, but we do usually try to avoid them. We won’t seek them out for you, won't actively risk ourselves for your revenge, but…should the opportunity arise and it won’t end badly for us, we’ll help. Just keep that in mind before you fully commit to going with us.”

“I figured as much. I wouldn’t want to see you harmed since it’s my fight.”

Clyde took a deep breath and looked up at Token. “Also, promise me one thing Token. Promise me that you’ll find something meaningful to do with your life once your revenge is taken out. Promise me you’ll find something to rekindle that fire in your heart. Promise me this and I’ll take you on.”

Token stared hard into Clyde’s face, seeing the sincerity in the pirate’s expression. He closed his eyes and nodded. “I promise…Captain.”


	2. The Pirates of Penzance

The ginger root tea was not helping.

Token’s stomach lurched as he carefully stood up from his chair, holding onto the table for support. Clyde hadn’t been wrong in saying the transition would be hard. It had been two days since he had boarded the pirate ship and he was no closer to acclimating to the swaying of the sea.

“It gets ea-ea-easier as the weeks go by.”

Token looked up to see who Clyde had referred to as their entertainment, a man with messed up legs who walked around with crutches. “Uh…James, right?”

The man shrugged. “That’s so f-formal, but you can call me that. Jim, Jimmy, pick your poison. You’d kn-know all about that, right?”

Token took care to look around his room at what he brought aboard. “Despite being a “witch doctor” as people call me, that’s not what I excel at. Poison takes too long when you can just as easily snap someone’s neck. Most of these are for healing…if the need arises.”

Jimmy chuckled and nodded. “Knew you’d fit in perfectly when the Captain brought you aboard. He doesn’t take just anyone you kn-kn-know.”

“I gathered that from our talks. Only the ones that wouldn’t last a day on the sea, right?”

“B-B-Beats dragging my legs on the ground where they could get trampled. Or entertaining drunkards for barely enough for a meal.”

Token frowned as he looked at Jimmy’s legs. “Is that what-”

Jimmy shook his head. "D-D-Don’t worry about my condition. It’s just my two feet can’t get along because they both think they’re right.“

Token looked at the man in slight horror, causing Jimmy to laugh. “Born like this. They work barely. The cr-crutches Craig carved for me work wonders though. Gives me more freedom than I ever had. Of course the Captain gave me the most freedom by dragging me aboard.”

“You think very highly of him.”

“Best ca-ca-captain in the world. He’s saved all of us on board. Saved us from grim fates. His hooks aren’t the only thing th-th-that’s gold.”

There was a chuckle behind the two and Token and Jimmy turned to look as Clyde leaned in the doorway.

“Knew my ears were burning for a reason. Jim, I need to talk to Token for a bit and also… could you help with preparing dinner? Craig **_WAS_** helping…but he’s helping himself more to the cook than anything.”

“If they have clothes off, we’re dr-drinking mead for dinner.”

Jimmy hobbled out and Clyde smirked as he took a seat at the table. “So Token, getting adjusted?”

“Jimmy said it will get easier.”

Clyde nodded and tapped one of his hooks on the table. “Sit before you keel over. You look a bit green.”

“I’ve got-”

“Whatever mixtures can wait Token. I’d much rather you get your sea legs than make yourself worse. And don’t try to hide it from me. Leo tried that and the poor boy nearly fell off the Crow’s Nest. I chewed him out but immediately hugged him and told him it would be okay. He thought I was gonna kick him off or kill him for being so careless. He quickly learned I’m not that kind of pirate.”

Token glared at the captain before sighing and making his way back to the table, sitting down in on the opposite side of the pirate. “I guess your personality isn’t all that different then.”

“What?”

“Dying people tend to let out everything they wouldn’t normally say. Like a last rites sort of thing. It’s reassuring to know you’re still the same person you were while you were in my hut.”

Clyde furrowed his eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I be? You already know I’m not really a typical pirate. That’s just how we’re labeled.”

“How **_DID_** you get labeled as pirates anyway? You were a merchant’s son, making shoes. How do you go from one to the other?”

Clyde looked down and sighed. “This…used to be a slaver’s ship. Their main cargo were orphans to sell off for hard labor and the captain had remembered Tricia had been one of the orphans in the town Craig and she had come from when he came to our village. He took her and we quickly found out and sneaked aboard. Craig had the captain cornered, but he took Tricia hostage, threatening to slice her neck.”

Clyde closed his eyes and held up one of his hands. “I have a few other attachments besides hooks, including a sharp dagger. I couldn’t let him hurt Tricia or Craig, so I got behind the captain and…sliced his throat instead. Once the captain was dead, the rest of the crew was easy to deal with. We sailed back to the town…but quickly realized that if we got anyone involved, whoever had been on board would probably end up in the same fate or worse. Not to mention that I had killed a man. My dad helped us as much as he could…and we sailed off with the now free orphans becoming our crew.”

“Have you ever been able to go back home?”

Clyde smiled and nodded. “We stayed away for several years, just keeping to ourselves and docking in places that were safe and who we thought wouldn’t recognize the ship. My crew comes from many places, so we would sail there so they could visit their families or go home if they chose to. Did a bit of treasure hunting while we were at it since we had a ship and villages had rumors. Gave them a split if we found anything. We dock the ship at our village about twice a year to visit Tricia and my dad since she decided to stay and help him instead of going with us. We’re actually heading there now to meet up with the rest of the crew.”

Clyde leaned back and pointed a hook at Token. “So…how about you? What’s your story? Besides…well…you know.”

Token wrung his hands as he looked over his plants and tools. “Was the latest in a long line of healers on my mother’s side. She did what I did before she died. My father was the village chief before he picked another to take his place since I wanted to follow in my mother’s work. He died several years ago as well.”

Token sighed and looked down. “I’m not near the level of healer my mother was or her mother before her. They seemed to have a power to them. Something that make medicine and salves work better than they should. I guess you would call it magic. I don’t know if I didn’t learn enough before she died or the fact that I’m male, but I don’t have anything like that. My village took a while to warm up to me being their healer when my mom wasn’t able to help. I guess none of that matters now.”

Clyde frowned and shook his head. “Of course it matters Token! It’s your life’s work! It’s honoring your mother and her traditions! I’m sure it made her so happy that you wanted to learn her craft. If what happened to me hadn’t of happened, I would have done what my mother had done instead of helping my father.”

“What did she do?”

“She was a baker, baking breads and pies and all sorts of treats. I know all her recipes by heart and can tell someone how to accurately make them…but…it’s not the same as actually making them by myself. All I can really do as far as that is mix batter and knead bread, but it’s very time consuming. Tweek’s our cook, but I do encourage that if any new crew member knows how to cook, that they help out from time to time.”

“That sounds-”

“When you’ve got your sea legs Token. I mean it.”

——————————

Even days later, Token was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Captain Hookhand Clyde’s pirate crew were anything **_BUT_** pirates. In all his years of interacting with pirates and merchants in his village, never had he seen the camaraderie that his crewmates had with each other. Clyde hadn’t been wrong in calling them his family.

Kaiwen, normally called Kevin, was their navigator. He had been taken from his home at an early age, barely remembering any of his native Chinese language. Most often, you could find him out at night watching the stars and cataloging them.

Rebecca, also known as Red, was a woman with a quick wit and tongue, her freckles and wild auburn hair giving away her nationality. She had been the one to give Kevin his name and the two were inseparable. She was in charge of the ship’s weapons in case of attack and able to easily duel wield her cutlasses.

Leopold had the unfortunate nickname of Butters, due to the aforementioned incident with the Crow’s Nest and also for being a master of lock-picking. There was nothing the man couldn’t break into. He could spot a trap a mile away and could easily slip out of one if caught.

Kenneth was a man of few words, preferring to mainly work below deck and on the outside of the ship, checking for parts that needed repairing. He had been the one to create and sew the huge pirate flag that flew, a skull with two large hooks as the crossbones.

Jimmy had been born with messed up legs to a prostitute. He’d entertained his mother’s clients for food and money while she was busy with another client. Jimmy normally had crawled or his mother helped drag him around until she got too weak to do it. Clyde had offered a trade of Jimmy for his mother retiring from the life, setting her up in a nice house in Clyde’s village.

Tweek’s family had been farmers, growing the robust coffee beans the blonde had an abundance of on the ship. Out of all the children that had been on the ship in the first incarnation of the ship’s crew, Tweek actually still had his parents. They had sold him into slavery since he had been too twitchy to work the fields. When he was given the choice to go back, he had declined. As far as he was concerned, they were dead to him.

There were others that Token hadn’t met yet but soon would once they docked in Clyde’s village in a few days.

——————-

“Pretty girl?”

Token smiled and scratched the top of the red and green parrot’s head. “Yes Polly, you’re a pretty girl.”

“Polly really likes you Token. Normally it takes her a few weeks to warm up to anyone.”

Clyde held out one of his arms, letting Token unbuckle the straps that held the hook in place. “I never gave it much thought on my stumps hurting and lived with the pain, but that paste really helped. I’m sorry you have to-”

“It’s fine Clyde. That’s my job, making people feel better.”

“I could always just stick my stumps in the jar and rub them together. I mean, I can unbuckle and buckle my straps easily. It’s no trouble.”

Token shook his head. “Then I’d never see you…or the love of my life Polly over there.”

Clyde chuckled. “Hey! That’s **_MY_** girl. I’ll fight you for her.”

The two fell into silence as Token rubbed Clyde’s arms.

“So Token, not that I’m calling you a savage, but for the most part, your village wasn’t largely domesticated as far as we saw and heard from others. How do you speak English so well?”

“When my father became the village chief, we had been dealing with outsiders for many years at that point. My father spoke a little of the English words, mainly just the ones our village needed for trading. I was very young and still undecided on what I wanted to be, so my father asked the merchants and pirates to teach me English when I wasn’t training with my mother in case I became the chief one day and had a better grasp on what we needed to say. It helped in my mother’s teachings as well, since I was able to give the proper name of herbs and spices I needed when I traded.”

“Makes sense. Craig was amazed by your plant book and the fact it was written in two languages. He’s always finding things to want to learn. Kind of a Jack of All Trades. It helped with added income we needed once dad took him and Tricia in.”

Token helped Clyde put his hooks back on and smoothed out the material on Clyde’s long sleeved shirt to hide the straps. “So how long are we staying in your town?”

“A week or two. We need to restock on supplies and see if there’s any rumors of treasure to go search for. And I’m sure you would love to check out the wares the shops have. We get a pretty good deal since we help with repairs and work in town when we’re there.”

“All I have are a few trinkets and salves I could trade so it won’t be much.”

Clyde shook his head and laughed. “You’ve got money. The treasury on the ship is everyone’s. There’s a few rules like don’t take it all and don’t get in a situation where it takes most of it to bail you out, but if there’s something that catches your eye, then by all means, buy it.”

Token smiled softly. “I keep forgetting that you’re not a typical pirate captain. Be honest. How much **_DO_** you use the captain’s quarters? Do you even have a bed in here?”

Clyde chuckled. “How’d you guess?”

“Pirate captains decorate their space with their treasures and make it their own. This looks too bare to be yours, especially with what I know of you.”

“You got me Token. I do have a bed, but I mainly just sleep in my room I have in the crew quarters. It gets a bit creepy sleeping by myself so far away from the rest of the crew and uh… Craig’s room is right below. Him and Tweek are…loud. Very loud. Polly still occasionally mimics them in the most inappropriate times. Like breakfast the next day.”

“So Craig and Tweek…”

“They’ve helped others in our crew feel comfortable in who they are interested in. Kyle’s the one that deals with our money and it took forever for him to confess to Stanley that he liked him. Once Stan’s on board, if you need anything built, he’s the man to see. We’ll need to get some wood chopped once we’ve docked. Some of our barrels have seen better days.”

Token nodded. “I might need some shelves built with a way to keep my jars from moving around. Some drying racks for fresh plants. The ones I brought are so old. Speaking of, I’ve heard Kyle and Stan mentioned as well as a few others. Who else is there?”

Clyde smirked as he tapped the table. “Well…Red isn’t the only one that’s good with weapons. We call them The Sirens because…well…they’ve lured many a man to their timely death. Wendy’s the leader of them and in case Craig and I are incapacitated for any reason, she’s temporary captain. There’s also Bebe, Heidi, and Nichole. Nichole’s got your skin tone actually and was Kyle’s former slave before they ran away with Kyle’s younger brother. His parents were going to blame Nichole on something she didn’t do and he considered Nichole a sister more than anything. So…while we were docked in their harbor, they sneaked aboard. And…they became part of the crew.”

“That’s daring to have women on the ship.”

“They pull their weight and get the job done. So that’s all that matters. Heidi’s deadly with a smashed rum bottle and no sooner have you seen Bebe’s breasts, you’ve got a crossbow bolt in your head. Wendy’s the one you have to watch for. You think it’s scary that Red duel wields swords? Wendy’s a master of pistols. Nichole has a preference for knives.”

“I can’t wait to meet them.”

Clyde closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “We’ve got younger ones that want to come on board one day and you’ll meet them too. But…there’s one other of our crew that actually doesn’t sail with us. Eric’s a shady guy. Definitely have given us a run for our money and got us in heaps of trouble sometimes, but it all works out for us in the end. He mainly does our spy work. Gets in good with the more undesirables and gives us a head’s up.”

“How are you sure he won’t end up betraying you one day?”

Clyde smirked. “A life debt. More specifically, if I ever give the word or one of his tips ends up getting me injured badly or killed, my crew kills him. No questions. Craig will more than likely be the one since they were friends at one point. You remember how I said Craig and Tricia were in a group of thieving orphans? Eric’s the kid I got confused with.”

Token’s eyes widened. “And you let him live!? If I had been you, I’d-”

Clyde looked down and sighed. “Like I said Token, what happens when you get revenge? I wanted to. We had him pinned and I could have just as easily sliced his throat as I did the former captain of this ship. But I didn’t. Because the damage had been done and I needed to move on. He’s blind in one eye though. I couldn’t just let him go free unscathed. So I took his eye out. It’s this pale blue color, sort of like Leo’s eye with the scar. But unlike Leo, he can’t see out of it. That was my revenge and also a reminder. That his life is mine and I can take it when I want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scream at me: riddlepanda.tumblr.com


	3. Home Sweet Home

Token could already see the village was bustling long before they pulled into the docks. His heart thrummed as he thought about how his own would have looked like that. He gripped the side of the ship as he closed his eyes, remembering how he had looked out at his empty village as they had sailed away.

Something cold gently brushed his arm and he looked over to see Clyde looking at him worriedly.

“You okay? Don’t tell me you’re getting seasick again. Thought you were over it.”

Token smiled and shook his head. “I’m fine Clyde. Just…thinking. So that’s Port South Haven?”

Clyde smiled. “Yep. Official home of the Hookhand Pirates. We’re actually going to dock behind that large boulder over there. We’ve got our own dock that can’t be seen. It’s a secluded cove that the village used to store supplies and extra food at before we built the large building to house it all.”

“Are you excited to be home?”

“A little. I just hope my dad will take pity on me and let me rest a day before putting me to work. You’ve got my back, right? I mean…I was dying. That’s gotta count for something.”

Token raised his eyebrow. “Putting you to work?”

Clyde chuckled nervously. “I may be a fierce pirate captain on my ship, but at home, I’m still Clyde Donovan, shoe maker and repairer. He’ll put me to work as soon as I get in the shop, but if I have a doctor’s excuse…”

“You never cease to amaze me Captain.”

Clyde waved his hook in front of Token’s face. “Just Clyde. We’re kind of incognito here. So if anyone not from the village asks questions, we’re all villagers that live and work here. It’s kept us from several close calls over the years.”

Token nodded and looked down. “Should I change my attire then? I don’t exactly look like a typical villager, especially with the face paint.”

“I didn’t want to offend you. I know you guard your customs fiercely and it would be rude of us to tell you to change. The villagers wouldn’t care if you walked around like that.”

“I’d feel better blending in to be honest. I was going to buy some clothes once we got on land anyway.”

Clyde shook his head. “You don’t have to buy clothes. You should just ask. I’m pretty sure you can fit my clothing and once we get to my dad’s shop, I’m making you the finest pair of shoes I can craft.”

———————————————–

“You sure you don’t want me to go with you Clyde?”

Clyde shook his head and nudged Craig toward Tweek. “Token’s coming with me to my dad’s and carrying my stuff. You go see Tricia. She’d be pissed if you didn’t go see her first.”

“NGH, you got the coffee for your dad, right? I blended it special for him. And don’t forget to pack your mixing hands this time!”

Clyde nodded. “I got everything and I won’t forget. We’ll see each other several times before we depart again. It’s not like you live far.”

Craig grabbed Tweek’s hand and began to drag him off. “Come on Tweek! Stripe’s getting restless in her cage. She’s chewing on the bars.”

Clyde chuckled and picked up Polly’s cage. “You ready Token?”

“One minute. Making sure my face paint is fully wiped off.”

Polly’s cage rattled slightly once Token emerged from the washroom in Clyde’s room, Clyde assuring himself that if he didn’t have a hook for a hand, he’d drop the poor bird. He stared hard at Token as the man adjusted the collar on the shirt he was wearing.

Clyde couldn’t describe it. He had seen Token for so long without a shirt or pants, the native more comfortable in his tribe’s clothing. Seeing Token now, without the face paint, wearing his clothes, his long beaded hair cut short-

“You cut your hair.”

Token raised his hand over the remaining hair. “Well I’m technically a doctor, so I should look well groomed.”

Clyde frowned and looked down. “You didn’t have to change everything. We want you to be yourself. All your customs and traditions-”

“I’m still myself Clyde. I may have changed my outward appearance for right now, but I’m still myself inside. All my customs are still here in my heart. I figured it would be best to change anyway. It’ll be easier to find leads to the Red Eyes if I don’t look like a crazed savage.”

Clyde narrowed his eyes. “Token, none of us ever thought you-”

“I know. I know none of you did. Relax. Please Clyde?”

Clyde sighed and nodded. “Alright.”

—————————

The man that immediately hugged up Clyde was the splitting image of the brunette if he were older. Token could only guess that this was Clyde’s father, Roger.

The man pulled away and looked Token over. “Looks like you roped in a new shipmate. What’s your story boy?”

Token glanced to Clyde before looking Roger back in the face. “Ship’s doctor sir. Saved your son’s life from the brink of death when they landed on my island. Asked Clyde to take me with them since they didn’t have a doctor.”

Roger looked back to Clyde. “What happened to-”

“He was killed. Sliced across the neck. We barely sailed away with everyone else at the lead we got. Left most everything we had found too.”

Roger shook his head. “I told you that you should have waited until you had the full crew back before heading out. Those who stayed have been a bit restless. The whole village has enough firewood to last us for two winters. Stan went a bit overboard with the wood chopping.”

Clyde nodded. “I know. I know I should have waited…but something just called to me to go ahead and make that journey with who I had available. We ended up with Token from it though…even if I nearly died and we ended up with nothing else. Token’s been a great help on the ship. Really knows his plants and herbs.”

Roger looked back to Token. “Token huh. We’ve got an extra room you can use during your stay here. The least I can do for you saving my son’s life. Why don’t you two get settled and I’ll start making dinner.”

“What about work? It’s only the middle of the day.”

Roger smirked at Clyde. “Figured I’d give you the day off. But I’m working you double tomorrow. Be ready for it.”

——————————-

“What illness had plagued Clyde?”

Token looked up from sketching in the new book Clyde had found in his room and had given him, to see Clyde’s father in the doorway. He grabbed his old book and flipped through the pages. “Fever, couldn’t keep anything down including water, a number of other symptoms I had figured out that Craig didn’t tell me. It wasn’t a normal food poisoning like what Clyde had told me later that he thought it was.”

“And you had treated it before?”

Token gripped his book as he shook his head. “I knew of it and how to treat it, but I had never done it myself. My mother was our healer in our village and had told me about it and I wrote it down in case it came up again. A young mother and father had been on a ship that had docked at our village. Their infant son had the illness and my mother had treated it.”

Roger nodded as he ran his fingers over a small circle of leather before pointing at Token’s leather bag on the table. “That bag was your mother’s, right?”

Token nodded. “Yes sir. It’s seen better days, but it’s lasted a long time. It was actually payment from the father for saving his son.”

Roger came in the room and ran his fingers along the bag. “Your mother’s name was Lida.”

Token’s eyes widened. “How do you know-”

Roger smiled and closed his eyes. “You never realize just how small the world can be sometimes. You were just an infant yourself, but I remember you. Attached to Clyde in your bed to keep him calm as your mother made the medicine to help him. Even Betsy couldn’t calm him down from all the crying he was doing, but you… just babbled on and Clyde was entranced by your every word.”

“Clyde… He was the infant my mother saved?”

“We were on the ship, sailing here to start a new life and be the first inhabitants of the new land that had been discovered. I had only been working with leather on my own for a few years, ready to open up a shop for leather work. But Clyde had contracted the illness and our doctor on board tried everything. He was ready to give up. We docked at your island for trading and Betsy was prepared to leave without him. We knew he wouldn’t last long.”

Roger looked at Token. “Your mother wouldn’t have that and she did everything to save him. Something in her eyes, her voice… She acted like it was her own child dying in front of her and mothers…they’d do everything for their children. Once Clyde started to recover, I made her this bag out of my finest leather as payment. She was using bags weaved out of straw and plants but they didn’t last too long. But this one, she’d be able to use it for years. I made sure of it.”

Token stared at the leather bag. “So…you recognized the bag and realized who I was?”

Roger nodded. “It was the best leather bag I had ever made. Of course I’d recognize my own work. But…you know you look exactly like your father. I’d never forget the kindness your family and village gave me and my family. Your skills must be as good as your mother’s to figure out what Clyde had a second time. I hope your village won’t suffer while you’re gone.”

Token closed his eyes as his hand tightened into a fist. “They’re all gone. The village. I’m the only one left. That’s why I left. They were… They were killed. I only escaped because I was on the other side of the island when the Red Eyes attacked.”

Roger put his hand on Token’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry Token. I can’t image the grief you feel. They were all good people, just like you.”

Token could only nod as he tried to not let tears fall.

“I know it’s not much in terms of comfort, but… you’re always welcome here. Just like your mother claimed Clyde as her own, if you want…the same… I know you’re part of Clyde’s ship’s family, but if you want to call _this_ home, you’re more than welcome.”

Roger patted Token lightly on the back as he shakily nodded. “Goodnight Token.”

**Author's Note:**

> Scream at me: riddlepanda.tumblr.com


End file.
